Data on Flea Parasitism and Annual Re-encounters of Utah Prairie Dogs at 5 colonies on the Awapa Plateau, Utah, USA, 2013-2016

Data on flea parasitism and annual re-encounters of Utah prairie dogs at 5 colonies on the Awapa Plateau, Utah, USA, June-August 2013-2016. Utah prairie dogs were live-trapped and sampled on 5 colonies along an elevation gradient from 2,645 m to 2,873 m. Upon first capture each year, we anesthetized each prairie dog and fleas on its body and combed the prairie dog as thoroughly as possible for 30 s to collect fleas. We recorded the age (juvenile/adult), sex, and mass (nearest 5 g) of each prairie dog and marked its ears and body with metal tags and passive integrated transponders, respectively, for permanent identification. We indexed each prairie dog's body condition as the ratio between its weight and hind-foot length (nearest 0.10 cm) (weight:foot). Prairie dogs were allowed to recover from anesthesia and released at their trapping locations. Precipitation data for individual prairie dog colonies each year (February through September) are from the Parameter-Elevation Relationships on Independent Slopes Model (Daly et al. 2008; http://www.prism.oregonstate.edu/). The first set of data, Awapa UPD Fleas, includes data on the abundance of fleas on individual Utah prairie dogs. Each line of data is from an individual animal. Data include Utah prairie dog Age and Sex, prairie dog Condition, abundance of Fleas on the prairie dog, precipitation of the prior year (PriorPRISM), and precipitation of the current year (CurrentPRISM). The second set of data, Awapa UPD Reencounter, includes data on annual reencounters of individual Utah prairie dogs. Each line of data is for an individual prairie dog in a given annual interval; an animal must have been captured at the start of an interval to be included in that interval (e.g., a prairie dog captured in 2013 but not captured in 2014 was included in the interval 2013-2014 but was not included in the interval 2014-2015). The response variable (Reencounter) was binomial (e.g., a prairie dog captured in 2013 and 2014 but not in 2015 received a response of 1 for the interval 2013-2014 and a value of 0 for the interval 2014-2015). Predictor variables included: PriorPRISM, CurrentPRISM, prairie dog Age and Sex, prairie dog Condition, and flea parasitism of the prior year (expressed as detection/non-detection of at least 1 flea on a prairie dog in the prior year = FleaPrev). Data also include a information on trapping effort (i.e., number of trap days on a given colony) in the current year. Funding and logistical support were provided by the U. S. Geological Survey (USGS), Western Association of Fish and Wildlife Agencies, and Colorado State University. This research was also supported by Grant/Cooperative Agreement Number G14AC00403 from the USGS and Grant number RC-2634, Department of Defense Strategic Environmental Research and Development Program. Fieldwork was completed by the USGS Fort Collins Science Center, and lab work and flea identifications were completed by the USGS National Wildlife Health Center.

美国犹他州阿瓦帕高原5个群落的犹他土拨鼠跳蚤寄生情况与年度重捕数据集，采样时段为2013-2016年每年的6月至8月。研究人员沿海拔梯度（2645米至2873米）对5个群落的犹他土拨鼠开展活体诱捕与采样。
每年首次捕获个体时，研究人员对每只土拨鼠实施麻醉，随后彻底梳理其体表30秒以采集跳蚤。记录每只土拨鼠的年龄（幼体/成体）、性别与体重（精确至5克），并分别使用金属耳标与被动集成应答器（passive integrated transponders）标记其耳部与躯体，实现永久标识。以体重与后足长度（精确至0.10厘米）的比值作为土拨鼠的身体状况指数（体重:后足长）。待土拨鼠从麻醉状态恢复后，将其放归至捕获地点。
各土拨鼠群落每年2月至9月的降水数据来自独立坡度参数-海拔关系模型（Parameter-Elevation Relationships on Independent Slopes Model，PRISM）（Daly等，2008；http://www.prism.oregonstate.edu/）。
第一组数据为「阿瓦帕高原犹他土拨鼠跳蚤数据集（Awapa UPD Fleas）」，包含单只犹他土拨鼠的跳蚤寄生丰度信息。每条数据对应一只个体，字段包括土拨鼠年龄、性别、身体状况、体表跳蚤丰度、上一年度降水（PriorPRISM）与本年度降水（CurrentPRISM）。
第二组数据为「阿瓦帕高原犹他土拨鼠重捕数据集（Awapa UPD Reencounter）」，包含单只犹他土拨鼠的年度重捕信息。每条数据对应特定年度间隔内的一只个体：仅在该间隔起始年份被捕获的个体才会被纳入该间隔（例如，2013年被捕获但2014年未被捕获的土拨鼠，会被纳入2013-2014年度间隔，但不会被纳入2014-2015年度间隔）。响应变量「重捕情况（Reencounter）」为二分类变量：例如，2013年与2014年被捕获但2015年未被捕获的土拨鼠，在2013-2014年度间隔的响应值为1，在2014-2015年度间隔的响应值为0。预测变量包括：上一年度降水、本年度降水、土拨鼠年龄与性别、身体状况，以及上一年度的跳蚤寄生情况（以土拨鼠上一年体表是否检出至少1只跳蚤记为FleaPrev，即感染/未感染）。数据还包含本年度的诱捕努力量（即特定群落的总诱捕日数）。
本研究的经费与后勤支持来自美国地质调查局（U.S. Geological Survey，USGS）、西部鱼类与野生动物机构协会以及科罗拉多州立大学。本研究同时获得了美国地质调查局资助编号G14AC00403的拨款/合作协议，以及美国国防部战略环境研究与发展项目资助编号RC-2634的支持。野外工作由美国地质调查局柯林斯堡科学中心完成，实验室分析与跳蚤物种鉴定由美国地质调查局国家野生动物健康中心完成。